


I'll Never Stop

by PolarGrizz47



Series: Daemon Overwatch AU [11]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Death, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, prepare for sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 13:04:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7172873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolarGrizz47/pseuds/PolarGrizz47
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“If I… could g-go back,” Jack continued, a forgotten dam busting somewhere deep inside him, letting out a torrent of the icy past to pour over him. The swell emotions gave him fading strength, something that Jack clung to foolishly. “I’d… I’d change… G-Gabe, I swear,” He muttered, eyes slipping closed as sleep became too tempting.</p><p>He’s only forced to open them as the Reaper squeezes his hand too tightly, the dull pain dragging Jack back into the present. “You wouldn’t have to change anything,” He said softly, leaning closer to listen to Jack’s wheezing. “All you gotta do is stay awake… we can fix this-”</p><p> </p><p>More Overwatch Daemon au, super sad edition.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Never Stop

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed!!   
> I'm writing death scenes for some select ships in my Overwatch Daemon au, this is part one!

He’s dead. That was the first thing that Gabriel had noted as he shoved his way through the demolished and still smoldering building. The smoke would have hurt him before his little accident, but now, as he exhales his own breath of black smog, he hardly notices the way the leftover and charred remnants sting his eyes and lungs.

Pepper is still in his hood, her little body shivering against his side as he pauses to stare at the blood. He follows the reddened mess up from the floor, tracing the flowing puddle to the ashen outline of a dog.

_ Juilliard,  _ he thinks, panicked and heartbroken as he stumbles over his own feet to get to her. The Reaper, who proclaimed that  _ death followed _ , now wished that he could bring the healing touch of an angel instead. The old shepherd was lying curled up on her side, eyes half-lidded and nostrils clogged with dirt and drying blood. Her gray muzzle was smeared with red, her own blood mingling with that of her previous enemies. However, as he gets closer, Reyes realizes that the majority of the bloody mess wasn’t  _ hers. _

“Jack,” He rasps, pausing as the old dog lifts her head finally with nothing more than a pained, mournful whine. Her breathing rattles through the area as the Reaper pauses to take in the scene in front of him.

The soldier was lying on his back, half crushed by fallen remains of the cement structure and shattered rebars. His right hand was outstretched towards his loyal daemon, fingers curled into his palm weakly and his glove torn. Gabriel couldn’t see the left arm, as most of the structure had pinned him to the ground from the waist up, only exposing his right side and his shoulders. From what the Reaper could see, it wasn’t good. 

Rusted and splintered rebars had dug into Jack’s side, impaling him right through when the structure gave way atop him. The blood had clotted around the wound, leaving shiny red puddles in the reflecting glint of dying flames. The worst of it had slammed through the old soldier’s middle, the metal sticking out of him strangely, bent and misshapen from where it had broken apart from the cement. 

He can smell the blood already, the scent of death drifting above the flames. Jack was _ dying,  _ slowly but surely. His daemon was mirroring the progression, both of their lives intertwined since birth.

The human could survive without their daemon, but the daemon would draw its last breath right alongside its human companion if they fell into death’s cruel embrace.

Gabriel doesn’t remember how he got here so quickly, crouching beside Jack and staring into his shattered visor hopefully. “Jack,” He mutters, clawed gauntlets gently pulling the broken mask away from scarred features. 

The man’s eyes flutter, blue orbs looking distant when he finally cracks open his eyes and Reyes wonders if the wounded man even  _ sees _ him at all. Jack’s features are worryingly pale, all the color drained from him and mouth smeared with a bright, sickening red. Sweat beads along his brow, his breathing faint and strained. 

“Jack,” Gabriel repeats, a sense of urgency slipping into his tone when the soldier’s eyes start to close once more. His clawed gloves tenderly smooth over his gray beard, “C’mon, focus.” He growls, patting him a bit to get some sort of reaction.

Dull eyes open again, mouth exhaling a warm and sputtering gasp as if he was just waking up for the first time. A pained sound tears out of him, a hand suddenly sliding against the ground as he lurches and groans in agony. Jill whimpers, shoving her dry nose into his palm, shaking in pain right along with him.

Gabriel keeps his touches featherlight, his throat tight and heart feeling as if it may explode in his chest. “It’s going to be okay, do you hear me?” His voice brings the soldier back into focus, wild and fearful gaze landing on the Reaper’s mask. It occurs to Reyes that Jack hadn’t even realized he was there.

Jack’s mouth opens and then closes, his gums and teeth rimmed with red as he drew in a rattling, wet rasp. “G-Gabe?” He ground out, shaking as the familiar mask was slowly pulled away from his old friend’s face. The same old scars bring a slight, guilty smile to his lips, his grin only falling away as his body twists in agony.

The need to live and the pull of death coursed through him, a tug of war between the failing body and the restless spirit.

“I’m right here,” The man soothes, his hands worrying as he begins to tear at the dark cloak that usually enveloped him, “Just keep talking to me, alright? Help is on the way, yeah?” 

The old soldier gasped, his breathing strained and crushed by the cement. He can’t form words, the sudden thought of dying gripping him tightly. He was dying - right here - Jack Morrison wasn’t going to walk out of this one. 

His luck with massive explosions had to end at some point. Biting the bullet did more than destroy teeth eventually. All heroes eventually had to  _ fade _ from the history books, nanotechnology or not.

The thought that he was going to die brought a faint spark of life into his eyes, old wounds reopened as he stared at his friend, his lover working beside him. He was suddenly aware of the smog that rose from Gabriel’s lips, the worried, red glint to his usually dark eyes. Jack was violently reminded of his failures and greed of the past. Of all the lost time. Of the monster Reyes had been turned into… all because of _ him. _

It was all his fault -

A hoarse cry tore into the ashen area as Reaper placed his cloak atop one of the worst wounds in Jack’s stomached and pushed down, hoping to stem most of the blood flow that he spied dribbling there. The sound was echoed by Jill’s own pained yelp. The soldier’s screaming made Gabriel set his teeth, every fiber of his being burning at the idea of causing Jack even more pain.

Swallowing down the lump that had formed in his throat, Reyes gently lifted a hand and smoothed it over Jack’s damp, silver locks. “I’m sorry, you can hate me all you want later, okay? J-Just keep,” He swallowed again, steeling himself, “Keep your eyes on me. Talk to me.”

Panting out between sobs, Jack tried to sit up somewhat, only whimpering in response to the agony tearing him apart from the inside out before lying limp on the ground. He blinked away the black dots that danced across his vision, trying to focus on Gabriel’s concerned face.

“Gabe...” He wheezed, voice soft and weak. His hand raised up, reaching for Reyes with the last of his strength. Jack let it fall limp only when Gabriel took it tenderly in his clawed grip, a soft and worried smile gracing the man’s features.

“Right here Jack, I’m not going anywhere,” Reyes promised, smoothing his thumb over the back of Jack’s knuckles in a comforting gesture.

Jill wriggled closer to the fallen soldier, resting her bloodied muzzle onto his equally bloodied chest. Their patriotic scheme was botched thanks to the blood staining them thoroughly.

A moment of silence holds them softly before Jack finally wheezes out, “I...I’m s-sorry,” He is barely able to squeeze Gabriel’s hand, the blood loss taking its toll on the old warrior.

The Reaper pauses before shaking his head sternly, “Jack, there’s nothing-”

“If I… could g-go back,” Jack continued, a forgotten dam busting somewhere deep inside him, letting out a torrent of the icy past to pour over him. The swell emotions gave him fading strength, something that Jack clung to foolishly. “I’d… I’d change… G-Gabe, I swear,” He muttered, eyes slipping closed as sleep became too tempting.

He’s only forced to open them as the Reaper squeezes his hand too tightly, the dull pain dragging Jack back into the present. “You wouldn’t have to change anything,” He said softly, leaning closer to listen to Jack’s wheezing. “All you gotta do is stay awake… we can fix this-”

Jill suddenly let out a burst of air, her voice strangely weak and tired as she confessed, “We n-never stopped... loving you.”

Pepper quivering along the warm skin of his throat, her tiny heart thudding against her ribcage in tandem with Reyes’ own pulse. 

Jack stares at him dully, a bloodied and defeated smile lingering on his features. “I swear… I’d fix this -  _ us _ \- Gabe…” 

An acidic feeling of shame and regret flooded Gabriel’s mouth, his mind reeling for an answer. What could he say? The man who was responsible for a great deal of his past hauntings was… apologizing to him. In a strange and painful way. The man was admitting sins while he waited for death to welcome him into the dark embrace. 

“So I’m sorry,” Jack said again, stronger, this time, fueled by his sorrow. “I-I was a fool… but you,” The soldier coughs, wheezes, his chest straining and words suddenly becoming a pained whisper. “I n-never hated you… e-even after _ … please, _ Gabe.”

What was he begging for? Forgiveness? Understanding?

A writhing mass of pain and emotion balled itself against Gabriel’s throat, clogging anything that came to mind. For once, the man found himself at a loss for words.

Jack was able to slip his hand out of the weak grip that Reyes had, gently cupping his odd lover’s features and smiling weakly. “I...It’s okay, Gabe. I un-understand.” His hand grows weak, muscles quivering as he lets his hand fall slowly from the other man’s beard, instead latching it onto a belt on his armor. “I…” He drew in a weak, rattling breath, eyes finally allowed to shut as he mutters, “I… never…”

_ I never stopped loving you. _

Jill is whimpering, nuzzling closer before she’s stiling, her whole body going lax against the shoulder as a strange wheeze leaves her lungs. Jack has no time to feel saddened by her passing for he is falling into the comforting darkness of death right alongside her. 

His hand falls to his side against the bloodied ground, expression smoothing into something akin to a worried peace. His body goes limp, the tense pain no longer underneath Reaper’s hand as he pushes against the wound.

A sudden realization strikes Gabriel, his eyes flickering over Jack and Juilliard's forms before he’s lurching forwards with a snarl. “No! Jack, damn it!” He shouts, trying to shake the man awake with a pained and very animalistic scream tearing out of his lungs. “Jack, don’t you fucking  _ die _ on me!”

He tries to bring him back, presses against his chest in a timed manner, forcing air into Jack's lungs as he uses his memorized training from Blackwatch. Jack doesn’t move, doesn’t even twitch. Reyes shouts again in frustration, cupping the old soldier’s pale and cold features while he fears tears pricking his eyes. “Please,” He begs softly, one hand going to the familiar fur on Jill’s side, “Please…”

There is no spark of life, no rush that flooded him whenever he would be allowed to touch Jill earlier. They’re gone, he thinks suddenly, gone and dead. And he couldn’t even say anything to them in their last moments.

Tenderly, he picks up Jack’s hand, holding it softly.

He surprises himself with the sob that escapes his mouth, a puff of smog filling his vision as he cradles the soldier’s hand in his grip. Pepper is saying something to him, mournful words lost to him as Reyes lifts Jack’s bloodied glove to his lips in a mock kiss. “I never stopped loving you,” He whispers, the bat hushing along his neck as he continues,  _ “Never.  _ And you…  _ you _ wouldn’t have to change… Jack, goddamnit,  _ I  _ would change. Everything… so… please, wake up. Come  _ back _ to me.”

Gabriel mourns for the first time in ages.

Jack and Jill do not move.

_ I’ll never stop loving you. _

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, yes. I know. WHYYY??? 
> 
> Well, I feel like death isn't my strong suit. I wanted to practice. Next up, WidowTracer sadness. Yeah, it's going to be similiar to this and hopefully even more heartbreaking?
> 
> Love to hear comments! I promise it won't always be this sad lol


End file.
